Date: 01/31/2005

An analysis of student access, retention and graduation rates of California State University students shows that overall -- and across racial and ethnic groups -- the first-year retention rates and the six-year graduation rates exceed those for national benchmarks, reports the CSU. The graduation rate for first-time freshmen entering the CSU in 1997 was 54 percent after six years, 10 percentage points higher than the national benchmark of 44 percent. The retention rate was 79 percent compared to 70 percent nationally. For more, and information on student access, see http://www.calstate.edu/pa/news/2005/gradrates.shtml.

In other CSU news, last week, the Board of Trustees heard a report that despite a lackluster economy that reduced charitable giving to higher education nationwide, the system received a solid $283 million in philanthropic support in 2003/04 while dramatically increasing its outside funding from operating grants and contracts. See http://www.calstate.edu/CSULeader/2005/050126.htm.